Heraldic titles
During most of our period, and in large parts of Europe, heralds as a rule had titles of office. The same is largely true for the SCA as well, although we also have lots of untitled heralds. A herald's title has two parts. First, there is a name and after that comes the rank of the title. Historically a name usually was used with just a single rank throughout the centuries, so that if a person was promoted to the next rank they got a new name of office as well, although in some cases a name was used with different ranks at different times. Examples: * Schwarzdrachen Principal Herald (name: Schwarzdrachen; rank: Principal Herald) * Edelweiss Herald (name: Edelweiss; rank: Herald) * Dragon’s Steel Pursuivant (name: Dragon's Steel; rank: Pursuivant) * Argent Snail Herald Extraordinary (name: Argent Snail; rank: Herald Extraordinary) Many SCA heralds with titles may sign heraldic correspondence using their heraldic name as their surname, or refer to colleagues this way. For example Juliana Laurel (Dame Juliana de Luna, Laurel Queen of Arms). Heralds' names The name part of the heraldic titles is the one that varies the most. There are some general categories, though, and nearly all names belong to one of them. *Heralds were often known by the title of their master, so that the Duke of York would have had a York Herald as his personal herald. *In some instances the herald's title was taken from the lord's family name instead of his title. This would result in a title like Fitzalan Pursuivant. *In cases when an order had a herald, the order name could be used as the title. This is how the principal herald of England is titled Garter King of Arms. *Especially junior officers were often named after elements in their employers' arms or badges, like Unicorn Pursuivant. *Some titles are derived from the employer's motto, like Ich Dien Pursuivant. What does this all mean in the case of the Drachenwald College of Heralds? First, all local heralds are encouraged to use the name of their group as their herald's title, so that the herald for the Shire of Dickleburgh is by default known as Dickleburgh Pursuivant. Second, a household employing a herald is likewise encouraged to use the name of their household as the herald's title, provided that the household name is of one of the types used as heralds' titles, i.e. a family name, a place name or an order-type name. In this case, the request to use the title should be signed by the herald and the person to whom the household name is registered. Heralds' Ranks At least in the western part of Europe there were three ranks of heralds (this varied a little, so that apparently at least the lowest rank wasn't used in the German countries). The highest rank was that of King of Arms, sometimes also called King of Heralds; such a person often had a defined territory, so that for instance Norroy King of Arms was the chief herald of Northern England. The next rank was that of Herald, and the lowest that of Pursuivant (originally meaning one who aspires to become a Herald, but later simply a rank below that of a Herald, with no clear implications about the experience of the person). In the SCA the rank of Sovereign of Arms (King or Queen of Arms) is traditionally restricted to the chief heraldic officer of the Society and their immediate deputies. However, as we have several kingdoms it's natural to think that we need to specify the chief herald of a kingdom somehow. Thus we also have people with the rank of Principal Herald (this form was, in fact, sometimes used in period instead of King of Arms to specify the chief heraldic officer of a region). The two lower ranks of Herald and Pursuivant are used to denote the seniority of the position, roughly like they are in the real world. In Drachenwald the following ranks are currently used: *First, we have the Principal herald. It is not really a separate rank: rather the attribute 'principal' is used to show that this Herald is the chief one; thus it is common, and quite correct, for people to drop the attribute. *Second, we have the rank of Herald. These titles go with the senior jobs in the Kingdom, where the requirements of the job are getting close to those of the top one. As a rule of thumb, one competent enough to hold one of these offices should be able to fill in as the Principal Herald in an extreme emergency, without causing irreparable damage to either their own mental health or the College of Heralds. In practice this means the emergency deputy for Schwarzdrachen (obviously), the regional heralds (who have to have some idea about the system), and senior SCA-level commenters (including the submissions deputies). Also, the rank of Herald Extraordinary is given by long-standing custom to people who have been granted a personal title, unless they are warranted as Heralds in Ordinary. *Third, we have the rank of Pursuivant. These are the people whose job doesn't demand as much experience as a Herald's office. In practice this means the rest of kingdom staff, local heralds, and most heralds-at-large and heralds Extraordinary. How do I get a heraldic title? In Drachenwald all heraldic offices have a title, and the officer may use that heraldic title as long as they hold the office. Thus those warranted as kingdom staff heralds and most regional heralds already have one, as do the local heralds. Of the heralds at large, those who are commenting either internally or on the SCA level are encouraged to discuss with Schwarzdrachen about assuming a title that already belongs to the kingdom and is unused at the time, or about registering a new title to the kingdom for this purpose. Most often heralds may keep such titles as long as they remain active. However, once the original holder of such a title is dropped from the roster, for instance because of inactivity or moving out of kingdom, the title reverts to the kingdom and may be given to someone else. Titles are registered permanently to individuals only as a special recognition to senior heralds.